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Given the erosive effect of inflation, a $3,000 fee in 2012 is worth $2,587 in 2016. In other words, total arXiv member fees are worth about 85% of their 2012 value.
arXiv’s user support and development costs have increased due to the incorporation of unforeseen or underestimated expenses, including staffing. The new lines include Scientific Director (vacant, 0.4 FTE), CTO (0.30 FTE), paid moderation for physics.gen-ph, and 1.5 FTE additional developer time (including UX; see arXiv 2016 organization chart ).
The operational cost upsurge reflects the increase in user submissions and the proportional increase in workload for administrators. As illustrated below, the annual submissions since 2012 have increased by 35%. During 2012–2016, the number of submissions grew from 84,000 to 113,400.
The new tier and fee structure aims to be more equitable as the number of downloads from the top 20 institutions corresponds to 22% of the total downloads, while the sum of their contributions corresponds to less than 10% of all member contributions.
In addition to the CUL’s indirect contributions, the Library’s direct financial contribution will increase to $170,000, including the salary of Program Director (.40 FTE), which is not considered an indirect expense line.
To simplify the application of the fee structure for both member institutions and for arXiv, institutional tier rankings will be reviewed every three or five years and assigned based on a three- or five-year rolling average of use (institutional downloads).
Without an increase in the member fees, arXiv would run a deficit of $450,000 for 2018–2022, an average of $90,000 per year. If CUL is unable or unwilling to absorb increased operating deficits, arXiv support and development spending will need to be cut or the service will need to be transitioned to a new host.
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